Granada, Spain in a Day

Hello Fellow Travelers,

Hope you enjoyed reading my last 2 posts on Madrid and Seville. If you are planning a trip to Spain I would say you read those posts first as they give you an introduction to Spain. Anyhow, after reluctantly leaving Seville to head to Granada, I finally made my way to this city. Granada was an interesting mixture of Moorish and Spanish architecture and needless to say the main reason for me to visit the city was the Alhambra. However, Granada did pleasantly surprise me. There was a lot more to the city than the Alhambra and it looked like a scene out of the Arabian nights. I took a taxi to get to our hotel and it costed about 30 €.

Important Tips for visiting the Alhambra:

• Book your tickets in advance online. Granada tickets get booked almost 3 months in advance during the summer, so I would suggest you book your tickets as soon as you book your trip.
• There is a morning, afternoon and night session. Every time has it’s own charm. However, you might not get the quality of pictures you want at night.
• There are 2 parts to the ticket – tickets for entering the Alhambra and tickets for the Nasrid palace. For visiting the Nasrid palace there is only a half an hour time-slot and you should plan your visit accordingly. i.e. either tour the Nasrid palace first and then visit the rest of the Alhambra or vice versa such that you reach the queue for the palace in time.
• Do take the print outs of your tickets and the card with which you paid for the tickets with you.
• Wear comfortable shoes. Visiting the Alhambra takes a couple of hours and a lot of walking.
• There are buses (number C3) that run through all of Granada to the Alhambra. They cost about 2 € per trip and are very convenient instead of hiking up and down and stop right outside the Generalife and Justice Gate entrances.

The Alhambra

There are 3 main parts to the Alhambra:

1. Palacio De Generalife

These are beautiful gardens that were created for the Sultan. The fountains, the views, the flowers were all so so beautiful. No wonder no one ever left the palace.

2. Nasrid Palace

This is one of the most beautiful parts of the Alhambra. Visit to the palace is highly restricted and is allowed only in the half an hour time slot.

3. The Alcazaba

This was  a military fortress. You can see some beautiful views of Granada from here.

After you’re done touring the Alhambra, head to explore the beautiful city of Granada.

The City of Granada

If you get time after visiting the Alhambra, do walk in Granada towards the Cathedral and Plaza Neuvo. I think they are about 20 minutes walk. The city has a heavy moorish influence and has some really interesting streets. I felt like I was on the sets of Aladdin while visiting. Also, do try the Shawarma’s here. They are out of this world. If you like shopping, the street vendors sell some really interesting purses with Arabic scripts written on it.

Hope you enjoyed reading my post. Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks,

Ankita